The Oscar-winning composer talks traveling the cosmos with Christopher Nolan for Interstellar.
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Hans Zimmer:Was it unexpected?
And then we decided I didnt want anybody to hear what we were doing until they saw the movie.
And so I wanted you to have the sort of what is this?
A lot of people I just dont think realize what it was.
This is the fifth time you and Christopher Nolan have worked together.
What is the process like at this point?
Well look, I shouldnt say this and hes probably going to kill me.
There are two Chris Nolans.
Theres the Chris Nolan that you might encounter in an interview or you hear him speak publicly.
Hes very deliberate and very thoughtful.
And so when Chris comes down hes part of the band.
I mean people say, Why do you write such good scores for Chris Nolan?
Well its really simple.
The answer is Chris Nolan and the way we work together.
We get breathless with throwing ideas at each other and we cross all the lines.
Its like Chris will be talking about music and Ill be talking about story.
So we just had to go and share the burden of who was running the sessions.
Very often Chris would end up running the organ sessions at Temple Church.
And thats now part of the way you work together?
The only way I can describe it is its very much like having a band.
Because thats how we get to the thing.
This time, he just gave you a scene to read before you started composing.
Without telling me what the movie was about.
I locked myself away.
It was like method composing.
I locked myself away in my apartment in London.
I just wouldnt go and see anybody.
Just write it if we have to adjust it later well just adjust it later.
And I wrote it and I sent it over to him.
And I said, So how is it?
He goes, It hits right to the frame.
It hits everything to the frame.
It sounds like theres a tremendous amount of trust there between the two of you after ten years.
Well it has to be, you know.
When you and I speak right now were speaking in words and I hide behind them.
I have no musical education.
It wasnt business hours.
It wasnt about that.
It was just two friends meeting and me playing him this piece going, Well what do you think?
And him going, Well Id better make the movie now.
Then I asked him what the movie was.
That was the conversation we would always return to.
So its like, that set the tone and subtext for everything.
What I love about the use of the organ is that its both mournful and spiritual.
Mournful in the sense that its sort of mourning the possible end of humanity.
But also its got that spiritual feel because youre entering this church of the universe in a sense.
And its amazing technology.
They invested an amazing amount of time and effort to make something sound beautiful.
And then the other thing which I thought was that a big pipe organ does look like a rocket.
Thats a great metaphor.
The image fit the subject.
And I just loved hearing that.
You know even when Roger Sayer wasnt playing you just hear it.
Its like the giant asleep under the Earth.
You just hear the air pushing up against the pipes.
So its a magnificent beast that just waits to be unleashed.
I have this crazy theory about science fiction.
I think all science fiction movies are inherently nostalgic.
I thinkBlade Runneris one of the most nostalgic movies you might think of.Gattacais incredibly nostalgic somehow.
So with this nostalgia, they become weirdly personal.
I think as the movie goes on…Im trying to celebrate all thats good about humanity.
Im trying to celebrate scientists.
I mean I love that Chris was making a movie where scientists were front and center.
They were the stars.
They werent the geeky sidekick.
My dad was a scientist.
I want on my tombstone, He was a geek, he was a nerd and he loved it.
That band vibe you spoke about, is that in your DNA from being in bands early on?
Plus theres this other thing.
You know, Im a foreigner everywhere.
I mean we speak in English right now and really my mother tongue is German.
But Im not German anymore, you know.
We had these amazing conversations without using words.
Sometimes language isnt as important to us as just the experience you get to have, you know.
What are some of your favorite science fiction scores?
Well,Blade Runner.
I think John Murphy is such an underrated composer.
I just love that score.
I think its really hard to beatAlienjust for its sheer elegance and what Jerry Goldsmith did.Brazil, you know.
Yes we talked a lot about2001and2001was really daunting to me for a while.
The thing about2001is when the audience first saw it they probably knew The Blue Danube.
They knew that piece of music.
A great percentage of them might have known Also Sprach Zarathustra even though they couldnt pronounce it.
But the rest of the music, none of them had heard before.
Its just the simple mandate.
Youve got to write good music.
So what can you say about the approach to this one?
Its not even like Im being secretive.
And suddenly Im going, So I need to go chuck all this out and sort of reinvent it.
But I dont want to go betray our last nine years.
It was nine years of my life.
And Ive been working a lot with Junkie over the last couple or so years.
So I said to him, youll have a completely new fresh slant on this.
Let me deal with all the other characters.
And Zack loved the idea because Zack loves Junkie.
So hes working more on Batman.
Youd better watch out.
Interstellaris out now in theaters everywhere.
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